After the consistent results in race one at Oulton Park for East Coast Racing with Lee Johnston gaining fifth place and Gary Johnson securing 10th place the pairing had a mixed day in race two. Lee Johnston was unfortunate to crash on the opening lap into the final Lodge corner but Gary Johnson was able to secure a strong eighth place in the 16-lap Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport race.
Gary had a few problems going into race one yesterday but the mechanics managed to get things sorted overnight and Gary was able to put in fast lap time throughout the race. He gained a good start and was up to eighth place after the first lap and he was once again locked in a Triumph sandwich once again and dicing for a sixth place finish. The Lincolnshire man battled hard through the race and was unfortunate to not hold onto sixth place after passing Paul Young and Dan Cooper on the final lap but the pair of Triumphs managed to get back underneath him into the last corner.
Gary said "It was a good race today and I feel like we've made a lot of progress with the East Coast Racing Honda this weekend and we're definitely moving in the right direction with the bike. I was just unable to stay with the Triumphs down the straights as they are stupidly fast, we're a little down on power compared to them but hopefully that will improve as the season goes on. I'm just happy I'm able to put in some consistent results in the Championship and hope that will continue through the year. The next race is Croft is a couple of weeks and we go straight from there to the North West 200 which I'm really excited about. I'd like to thank my family for all their support and also all the boys in the team, Phil the boss, James my crew chief and Neil for all their help and hard work!"
A disheartened Lee said "I'm just gutted as Spider and the guys worked so hard last night to change a motor and I just wanted to repay them for all their hard work and hours that they put in with a good race result. I'm just really frustrated as I didn't manage to get out in warm up this morning and then this happened during the race, I guess it just wasn't my day today as nothing seemed to go right. Thankfully I'm in one piece and the bike survived the crash pretty well and now I'm just eager to get back out at Croft and put today behind me. I'm sorry to the East Coast Racing team and hope I can rectify it at Croft."
Team Manager Phil Reed said "It's been a pretty good weekend and the team have learnt more about the bikes once again and we are definitely moving in the right direction, which is good so early in the season. We're disappointed about Lee crashing but that's racing and both the rider and the bike are fine, which is the main thing. We're looking forward to Croft and then heading straight to the North West 200. Well done to the riders and thanks again must go to all the mechanics and sponsors of the team."
Race 2 Result - Oulton Park
Ben Wilson Kawasaki
Alastair Seeley Suzuki
Jack Kennedy Yamaha
Luke Mossey Triumph
Billy McConnell Triumph
Paul Young Triumph
Dan Cooper Triumph
GARY JOHNSON EAST COAST RACING HONDA
